Tom Yeargin and Neils Hansen had goals as Westport made its way to the MIAA South Sectional boys’ soccer tournament with a 2-1 victory over visiting Diman on Monday.

Yeargin got things going with 14:51 left in the first half when Westport goalie Ryan Martel boomed a wind-blown punt that bounced over the Diman keeper’s head and was tapped in by Yeargin, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

Hansen, an exchange student from Germany, netted his goal 5:15 into the second half when he blasted a shot into the lower left corner to make it 2-0.

“The first half was great,” said Westport coach Mark Nardelli, whose team improved to 9-3-1. “We had a lot of good scoring chances. As good as we played, it was still a one-score game and one mistake could wipe it all away. I told them we needed a quick one in the second half.”

Hansen came through for the Cats with his third goal of the season that provided his team with some much-needed insurance.

“Neils has been a godsend to us,” said Nardelli. “The first day he was here, he couldn’t speak much English, but he sure could play soccer. He’s still learning the American style of play, which he says is more physical.”

Hansen’s goal was key as Diman cut the Cats’ lead in half at 2-1 with 3:56 to go when Isaac Moniz slipped the ball past Martel after it had deflected off a Westport defender.

“We needed a point today to get in,” Nardelli said. “We didn’t want a tie. We have a long layoff (eight days) until our next game and that layoff will be a lot easier to deal with after a win.

“We still have some things to work on, but with us it’s about effort and intensity. We’re still learning how to compete at that high level for longer periods of time. The last couple of games, we’ve gotten better at playing with the higher level of intensity. Today, we probably played 70 minutes at that level.”